Users can disable the Start button in Windows 8.1 with the new "StartIsGone" program.

Ready for the controversy surrounding the Start button in Windows 8 and 8.1 to be over? Too bad – it's here to stay.

In a post on the Neowin forums, Sergey of Winaero wrote how he isn't pleased with Microsoft's decision to bring back the Start button but not the Start menu in Windows 8.1. So how is Sergey going to solve the problem? By getting rid of the Start button entirely with a new program.

"After release of Windows 8.1 I found its Start button useless," he wrote. "Seriously, there are no issues for me if that button is not shown on the taskbar. Sure, I miss the old good Start menu."

In his new "StartIsGone" program for Windows 8.1, Sergey provides users with the option of removing the Start button, which he notes will give users additional space on the taskbar. The program can be downloaded from the Winaero website, with versions available for both 32- and 64-bit Windows 8.1 variants.

The Start button in Windows 8.1 has power features available on right click.

Sergey isn't alone in his disdain for the lack of a Start menu in Windows 8.1 – many Neowin users in previous articles have noted that the Start button in the operating system update doesn't actually bring back the functionality of the original button, as it only serves as a link to the Start screen. Several third-party applications have been released to bring the Start menu back, and Lenovo is even pre-loading such a program on all its commercial computers.